


The Video Game Club (Commission)

by CrimsonKittenGG



Series: The Video Game Club [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bullying, Character Development, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Original Character(s), Self-Esteem Issues, Sexual Abuse, Violence, Weight Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25945354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonKittenGG/pseuds/CrimsonKittenGG
Series: The Video Game Club [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883062
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. A Fateful Encounter

Tabitha walked out of school in somewhat of a hurry. The notion of group assignments terrified her, and that was exactly the surprise her Maths teacher snuck up on her class mere minutes earlier. There wasn't much of a conversation among classmates to decide who would team up with who, but if there was one thing she knew, it was that she didn't want to team up with anyone.

In her hurry to simply vanish from the school's premises, the blue-haired young woman clutched her backpack's straps and shrunk unto herself, in a vain attempt to disappear from sight... Something that, deep in her mind, she considered impossible. After all, someone "that big" was hard to be missed. Truth is, Tabitha's plumpy curves made her extremely insecure about her own body, leading her to wear oversized, baggy clothes that made her look unkempt and miserable. But, if she had her way, she'd be gone while unnoticed, and there wasn't a whole lot more she could want. As for the team assignment, she'd talk to the teacher later... Or even take the F. Yes, the F was better than having to--

"Tabitha! Hey, Tabitha! Wait!" A female voice rang behind her. Grinding her teeth, Tabitha started to walk faster, in an attempt to ignore whoever was calling her out. But no amount of speed could help her from whoever came her way, as she took a couple of running steps towards her classmate. "Tabitha! You forgot your pencil case in the classroom! I got it, I wanna give it to you! You don't need to run!"

She froze in place for a moment, swallowing a dry gulp before turning around to see who it was. It was kind of embarrassing for her to not have recognized her classmate Trish's voice, watching as she approached her with the black and pink pencil case that was surely hers in hand. Averting meeting her classmate's gaze, Tabitha walked up to somewhere she could put her backpack on and ultimately getting the case from Trish's hand.

"Here you go," said Trish, brushing strands of her deep strawberry-hued red hair from her face. "I was hoping you hadn't boarded the bus to go home or something like that. I can't be walking around with your stuff, people are gonna think we're dating or something!" 

"... thanks," Tabitha groaned, very unappreciative of the joke, as she coldly put the pencil case in her backpack.

"... um... Yeah, bad form. Sorry," Trish motor-mouthed, shaking her head. "I-I mean-- Ignore that. Do you... have a teammate for the group assignment?"

"Do you really wanna talk about this... NOW? It's hot in here, and I just wanna go home," Tabitha cast Trish a look of sadness and disapproval, putting on her backpack again. Trish could see that Tabitha's forehead was already coated with sweat, as she made sure to let her know she was uncomfortable.

"I don't think you'd give me or anyone else a better time anyway," Trish muttered, almost to herself only, even though she could acknowledge Tabitha's discomfort as the blue-haired girl shrunk even harder unto herself. "But... I mean, you're so good at Maths. I could be your teammate if you'd like."

Tabitha cocked an eyebrow at Trish. Her classmate couldn't be more different from her if she tried: while Tabby was a chunky mess, hiding under her oversized clothes and ignored, if not picked on, by most of her peers, Trish was an extroverted girl with striking features that made her somewhat desirable by the boys in the school. Her hourglass figure of a body, with wide hips and shapely chest, complimented her exotic complexion, as her ice-blue eyes had dark ragged rings framing her pupils, making her look like a robot. Hell, looking at the right angle, her twin ahoges could even make the shape of a heart!

"We'll talk about this tomorrow, mmkay?" Tabitha started to turn around to walk home. "Let me sleep on it. I'm... Not great at group assignments, as you know. So..."

"It's okay. I just didn't want you to feel alone," Trish smiled warmly. It was rare for Tabitha to get such a demonstration of interest from a classmate, so she couldn't help but... finally smirk.

"Thanks," she said; "We'll talk tomorrow, okay--"

"Holy shit, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. Robot Girl and the Fat Cat, chumming it up?"

Derailing Tabitha's train of thought, one girl approached her and Trish, accompanied by another young woman. Her nasal voice and her expression of someone who had just licked the sourest lemon ever didn't compliment her wavy brown hair and piercing black eyes at all, as she stared into Tabitha with a hungry glare.

"Hi, Susie," Tabby growled before turning around, beginning to walk away. Susie was having none of that, however, as she walked faster than the blue-haired girl and stood in front of her.

"Hey, I just got here, Flubber. Don't be so impolite," Susie pushed Tabitha back, making her take a step back, but no more than that. "You're always moping around, being a loner, sucking your teeth all the time... It's time you made some friends!"

"That's not a way to talk to her, Susan," Trish squinted at this new girl... Which prompted her to look at her friend, as the two of them snickered.

"I'll talk to her the way I want to. Go beep-boop to someone who cares," Susie smirked devilishly at Trish before turning once more to her friend. "Hey, you wanna see something cool? This fat ass here has a cat tail stuck up her butt!"

"Let's see it then!" The other girl, a strawberry blonde, dangerously thin girl taunted, prompting Susie to walk around Tabitha, in an attempt to grab her skirt.

"EEK!" Tabitha dashed away from Susie, half blaming Trish for keeping her there and not doing enough to stop anything. Unbeknownst to her, Trish was about ready to run up to Susie to stop her from doing whatever she wanted, but the second girl shoved her into the wall, a muffled thud as she collapsed to the sidewalk. While Susie was unable to grab Tabitha's skirt, she managed to put her hands on her backpack, yanking it back and bringing her off-balance. Before she knew it, Tabitha caught herself falling backward, eventually crashing on the sidewalk in an indecent amount of pain.

"T-Tabitha! You okay?!" Trish approached her.

"It... Hurts-- You're bleeding!" Tabitha pointed out, noticing the gash on Trish's forehead, leaking crimson onto the side of her face.

"Aw, look at the two lovebirds," Susie mocked them as she held Tabitha's backpack up high. "Look, we just want to see the tail, girl. You give it to us, and I give you back your backpack. Sounds like a solid plan, doesn't it?"

"Oh, screw you! Give me my backpack!" Tabitha attempted to get up, only to be pushed back by Susie once more.

"With that attitude, I'm gonna throw your backpack in the middle of the street. I bet it's gonna be hilarious to watch you dodge traffic to pick it up... If the cars don't crush your shit before you reach them!" Susie laughed, followed by her friend. "All you gotta do is turn around... Show us your big fat butt... Let us see the tail you keep hidden in your knickers... And we'll leave you alone."

"Like hell you are," Tabitha growled, tears in her eyes, as she slowly got up, pressing herself against the wall behind her, hyperventilating and hiccupping.

"I am! Look, we can all see the little stupid ears on the top of your head. All you gotta do is--"

"That's fucking enough."

Susie felt the backpack being swiped from her hand, and from someone who she didn't know was there. Her smile was immediately gone from her face as she turned around to see a young man, beanie covering most of his black hair, angry brown eyes, as he stared into her with a fiery disdain. "The fuck?"

"I said, that's fucking enough. Are you deaf or just a dumbass?" He said, unwavering, before looking at Tabitha and Trish. "Whose backpack is this?" He asked, and Tabitha could only raise her hand before the boy threw the backpack her way. The blue-haired woman fumbled with it for a moment, Trish diving to catch it in case it fell from her hand, but it didn't happen. "What's with the cut on your head? Who did it?" He asked, looking at the gash on Trish's forehead.

"So you're gonna white-knight the weirdos? That's golden," the skinny blonde girl piped up.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, you two-penny whore," the male roared at her, making the blonde girl double take in shock. "Don't you have a bag of dicks to choke on somewhere else?"

"Hey! That's really uncalled for!" Susie complained, raising her hand. "Didn't your mother teach you some goddamn manners?!" She said, swinging her arm, trying to slap the man's face...

... but he had enough of a reflex to hold her hand in the air.

"Apologize," he grunted, staring into the now scared brunette's eyes. There was a mix of shock, anger, and disbelief in Susie's expression, as she refused to say anything, as the man's grip on her wrist became stronger and stronger. "FUCKING APOLOGIZE TO THEM, YOU COCK SUCKER!" He screamed in her face, making the brunette tremble.

"I-I'm-- Fucking sorry--" She tried, still looking at him.

"Apologize to THEM," he said, forcing her to spin and face Tabitha and Trish, the two women still somewhat flabbergasted with the turn of events. They glared at both Susie and the boy with fear and apprehension, waiting to see what was next.

"... I apologize," Susie said forcefully, without making the least effort to sound sincere. "There, I said it. Can you let me go now?"

"If I see your stupid ass hounding them or anyone else again, I swear I'm gonna fuck you up so bad, you're gonna kiss your mother with a straw," the man said, forcibly releasing the girl's hand and shoving her away. "Now make like a tree and fuck off."

"... isn't it ‘make like a tree and leav--' Sorry," Trish tried to break the ice, but immediately lowered her head when she realized her joke was not appropriate for the moment.

After that, an awkward silence befell the scene, with all people involved staring at one another without really knowing how it would progress. Ultimately, Susie and her friend decided to walk away from the scene, while the boy kept staring them down, watching them carefully until they made their way around a corner and vanished from sight. At which point he turned to Trish and Tabitha.

"You should get that shit looked at," he told Trish, pointing to his own forehead, as a means to bring her attention to her own. Trish rubber her forehead and winced with the sharp pain, before realizing her palm was coated in fresh blood.

"These bitches... I swear to god," Trish complained. "Tabitha, you okay?"

"I'm... fine," Tabitha lied, as she just wanted to vanish from that place. "I just need to...?!"

Tabitha and Trish then watched as, without saying anything else, the boy just started walking away from them, as if nothing had happened, stuffing his pockets with his hands and minding his own business. The two confused classmates then looked at one another, almost as if silently asking themselves, ‘what now?'

"Who's... That guy?" Trish asked, after a pregnant pause.

"That's... I don't know his name, I just call him Lion," Tabitha answered, shaking her head. "I don't know a whole lot about him, I just know he's kind of a... Weird guy."

"Lion... I've heard that alias before... Hey, isn't he the guy in the Video Game Club?" Trish asked, staring at Tabitha, hoping that she would know something about it. "I heard nobody goes there, he's pretty much the only dude in that club."

"That story does ring a bell, yeah," Tabitha spoke up, but still confused. "But we'll talk about it later. We need to get that bruise on your forehead looked at. And then... I just wanna go freaking home..."

...

...

...

Another lonely afternoon in the Video Game Club, just like all the others. Lion knew that his abrasive personality, while with his sardonic, confrontational attitude, drove people away from him. And he was okay with that. He didn't have any interest in sharing his passion for games with any of the other empty-brained dumbasses in the school -- they could make their own video game clubs for all he cared. At the end of the day, the Video Game Club was just an excuse for him to sit alone for a couple of hours after school doing his own thing. And that's exactly what he did, dis feet propped on the desk ahead of him as he mashed away at the buttons on his console.

But after what he had done the day prior, despite him not expecting anything different to happen, someone else would make their way into the classroom where he sat alone playing on his handheld.

"... hello?" Tabitha's weak, shy voice echoed through the classroom, prompting Lion to look at her. He did so for a mere two seconds before turning his attention back to his game, without even directing her a word. "Um... I just wanted to say thank you for what you did yesterday," she said, still somewhat embarrassed and not really expecting a whole lot from the loner she had heard controversial stuff about. "If I could ask you something, though... Why? Why did you do that? It's not like you know who--"

"I'm fucking sick and tired of bullies," he said, his eyes not meeting hers still. "I've gotten the shit end of this deal for long enough to be pretty much fucking done with this shit. And it goes both ways -- brick-shit-house fucks who think they're hot shit or vapid little whores like the ones who fucking blindsided you yesterday? They can all go fuck themselves for all I'm concerned."

Tabitha could feel an unbridled sense of pride in his voice as if he'd given a new meaning to stand up for oneself. That explained a lot about him... Almost as much as his unabashed love for expletives. He sure loved them.

"I... guess you have a point," Tabitha said. "I'll leave you to your devices. There's... A lot of work to be done," she muttered shyly, aiming to turn around and leave.

"You're gonna do me a favor though," Lion spoke up before she did, making her stop in her tracks.

His piercing eyes met hers, and all she could think about was how she'd made a horrible mistake walking into his den like that and how she'd bought herself into a whole lot of trouble. Judging by the way he looked at her, she could feel the hate and the judgment coming her way... Like everyone else who ever cared to lay eyes on her...

"Make sure those fucks don't catch you off-guard again," he growled. "‘Cause I won't be there forever. Fuck, I may not be there next time. So if you don't stand up for yourself and fight them, nobody fucking will."

"... but... h-how am I supposed to...?" She thought out loud.

"Hell if I fucking know! The fuck do you think I am, your mom?" Lion roared, making Tabitha flinch and take a step back. "I made it happen for me, so you can do it for yourself too. Find a way, though -- I'm not your fucking psychologist." And just like that, he turned his attention to his game once more, the almost muted sounds of the handheld echoing through the mostly empty classroom.

Despite the rudeness, Tabitha knew where Lion's attitude came from. The stories sounded more like rumors, but being in the same room with him, it was clear that said stories were true: once a bullied weakling, he who was but a little puppy for his detractors learned to roar and fight like the ‘lion' he was always meant to be. That change in attitude made him a sour and antagonistic person; somewhat of a defense mechanism, so that people would have to think twice about crossing him. not at all different from what Tabitha experienced herself, which made her ponder about how different people dealt with the same subject.

Tabitha always saw herself as scourge. Her overweight frame and her peculiarities of personality made her an easy target for mean girls in her class, especially because of how her hormones raged and made her not just curvy but also physically fragile. But instead of developing an antagonistic personality, she just wanted to disappear, as the chip on her shoulder weighted heavier and heavier every time such episode happened. There was nobody in her class that she trusted. Hell, nobody in that whole school.

And yet, there she was, being thankful for the help of someone who clearly didn't want her there.

"I see where you're coming from..." Tabitha scratched her head. "I'll certainly try. Just wanted to say I'm thankful."

"That's the second fucking time you say that. I got the message the first time," Lion groaned.

"... Yeah. Right," Tabitha shuddered, finally turning away from Lion to walk away from the classroom.

"Oh, and one other thing," Lion spoke up before she walked away, making the blue-haired woman to stop and turn once again. "Put yourself back together," he said, rather calmly. "If you're gonna wear those fucking cat ears, do it proudly. Your face's a fucking mess right now."

Tabitha blinked, surprised that he'd noticed the headband with yellow cat ears atop her head. It was something that was a part of her, and she did wear it with purpose, though she did try to hide it with her hair a little bit after all the episodes of bullying.

"... sure," she said, adjusting her hair a bit before bolting out of the room, and leaving Lion to his own solitude.


	2. The Lion's Den

Every afternoon was just like that for Trish: she'd walk around school looking for someplace to waste the couple of hours that she'd have to stay there waiting for her ride. It was something she'd gotten used to by now, but it didn't become any less boring because of that. She knew she could just find a quiet place in one of the empty corners near the cafeteria... As quiet as the school could be, what with the several other students gathering around playing games and gossiping and whatnot. But she wanted to spend her time distracting herself in a way that would make those hours go by her faster.

The most immediate solution for that was joining an after-school club.

Problem is, Trish had always had a hard time finding clubs to be a part of. Most of them were things she didn't enjoy doing in the first place, and the clubs that she did enjoy the premise of were just dominated by males who would make her uncomfortable, either by making it an overly masculine thing or ogling her body up and down as if attempting to eat her up with their eyes. While she could acknowledge how most of the boys in school found her attractive, the notion of filming and editing videos while a handful of lads drooled over her hourglass figure and ample breasts irked her. The same thing happened with female-dominated clubs, but mostly because the smaller girls would sneer and hiss at her, mostly jealous of her shapely body.

But while there's life, there's hope, right? As Trish decided to take another lap around school looking at the clubs she could possibly join and waste some of her extra time in, she couldn't help but walk past the same doors all over again, and relive, albeit shortly, her issues with the people involved in each of them. Photography club? A lot of stuck-up girls who think they're the next Henri Cartier-Bresson. Martial arts club? Too many immature boys who would spend most of their time trying to hit on her. Tea club just sounded like something straight out of Victorian England... Wait, what the hell's a tea club?!

Just as her second lap across school was almost through, she walked past a half-open door that she had previously ignored, seeing as there was no sign on it that would attract a lot of attention. In fact, there was just a slip of paper taped to the side of the door, and it almost felt like whatever went on in there was attempting to go unnoticed, making just enough of an effort to signal it was there.

Out of morbid curiosity, Trish referred to the slip of paper, pinning it to the wall before reading it. It was a simple message printed in small letters, without any flair or fanfare: "Video Game Club - Noon to 6pm - Open".

The red-haired vixen blinked before the cogs started to turn. That was Lion's hiding place. The boy who had stood up for her and Tabitha the day before. At that moment, the "legends" of the Video Game Club slowly became real: with Lion being a somewhat antisocial character, taking shelter in a club that hardly made any effort to make itself known, it's no wonder the Video Game Club was said to be always deserted. And, in a way, it almost felt like Trish wasn't supposed to be there.

... what did she have to lose, anyway?

"Um... Excuse me?" The redhead touched the door and softly forced it open. The almost inaudible creaking noise of the rusted hinges clearly wasn't enough to attract the attention of whoever was there, if there was even someone in the room, to begin with.

Unlike most of the other clubs, lit up and bustling with life, this classroom was mostly deserted, dark, with a slit of sunlight coming from the upper windows, while the lower ones had their curtains closed. The ambient was completely silent. And it's not like there was a repulsive aura to it that made Trish want to double back and walk away. It just felt like she'd entered... A desolate place, with absolutely nothing to look at, if not for desks, tables, and a whiteboard on the far end of the room.

Except it wasn't completely deserted. On the other end of the room, opposite to the teacher's plateau, she noticed Lion. The vitriolic youth sat nonchalantly on a desk, feet propped up on the table ahead of him, as he held what looked to be a 3DS, playing with it. Earplugs connected the device and his ears, which explained why he couldn't hear Trish arriving.

The redhead hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should call his attention or not. He was, after all, the only member of the club, and if she wanted to spend some time in that deserted classroom pretty much alone with him, she'd have to reach a compromise with him.

And that's when Trish's mind raced. What if Lion was going to be one of those guys, though? What if he would just take advantage of her being alone with him in an empty classroom? What if the good boy persona, his bully-killer attitude notwithstanding, was just a front for something far creepier? Maybe it wasn't a good idea walking into that room after--

"You looking for something?"

Lion's voice rung just as Trish started considering running away in embarrassment. The hoodied figure softly rose his head, staring at the redhead almost blanky, straight into her eyes, while still clutching his handheld. Trish looked to the sides, her face now red like a beet, almost matching her hair. "Um... Hi! I just... was looking around and... Th-This is the Video Game Club, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Lion turned his attention back to his game, judging it unnecessary to call her in. After all, it didn't seem like the redhead was interested in anything there. "We sit around, we play shit. Or, like, I sit around and play shit, ‘cause as you can see, not a whole lot of fuckers interested in dropping by."

"I wonder why," Trish muttered under her breath, considering Lion's sardonic attitude and how it almost felt like he was making an effort to make sure people would never join him in there. On the other hand, it was almost relieving to see that Lion didn't seem to be interested in ogling or harassing the redhead; he was just... vibing. "The little paper outside did say it's open, though... And I hope it doesn't just mean the door. Y-You know? It... was unlocked," Trish regretted the non-joke as soon as it came out of her mouth.

"You wanna enroll?" Lion spoke up, again without raising his head. "You don't strike me as someone who likes games, no offense."

"Can't blame you there," Trish deflated a bit. The shapely redhead was rumored to be a model herself, what with her incredibly well-developed body and her way of being outgoing to a fault. "But I guess I don't check a lot of boxes people think I do. Few people care to know the kind of person I am."

"If you're expecting me to buck that trend, knock yourself out. I don't give a fuck," Lion shrugged softly, his attention firmly on his game... Before the silence between him and Trish became too heavy to ignore. Finally, he lifted his head and looked at the redhead again. "You wanted to enroll or something?"

"I mean... Yeah, I could, but... If you think it's a bad idea, then..." Trish started, already piecing her excuse to take her leave together... Until she saw Lion get up from his seat and refer to his backpack on the desk behind him.

From inside the bag, he produced a notebook that he just deposited on top of an adjacent desk, proceeding to take his seat right back and pick up his handheld. The notebook's cover read ‘Video Game Club' and nothing else. "Sign this," he said; "For bureaucracy's sake. So people will know you're part of the club if they ever ask."

"So I'll have an alibi for this hour if I ever get in trouble?" Trish joked again, mindlessly so, as she removed her own backpack from her back and placed it on the nearest desk... Oblivious to how, for the first time, Lion cracked a smirk.

"Sort of," he muttered under his breath, while Trish collected a pen from her backpack, twirling it between her fingers before clicking it into a usable state.

Opening the notebook, the redhead noticed the Video Game Club was never a highly populated place. The names included in the enrollment book didn't fill two pages, and according to the date next to the first name, that notebook had been around for the better part of two years. Curiously enough, Trish couldn't find anyone named ‘Lion' in the registry. Trish stared at Lion, who still didn't give her any direct attention, before bringing her pen to the notebook and writing her name in, adding the date of that day right next to it.

"Welcome to the club, I guess," Lion spoke up when he heard Trish close the notebook. She picked it up and led it to the desk where the hooded male propped himself so nonchalantly, placing it next to him judging him more capable to deal with it. "Have a seat and enjoy yourself. Ain't a whole lot more shit to do here."

"... noted," Trish said coyly before putting her pen back inside her backpack. There was, however, a particular advantage to how isolated the Video Game Club room was: there was literally nobody around if not for Lion to interrupt whatever she was doing. And since she was used to having to wait inside the school for her ride, most of the times she had her own handheld to make her company.

It was almost like finding the club was written in the stars.

Before closing her backpack, the redhead pulled her own 3DS with it. Oblivious to how Lion cast her a glance, noticing the device in her hands before turning his attention back to his own, Trish took a seat on the desk closest to her, a couple of chairs apart from him, and started her game. "Might as well," she sighed audibly before making herself comfortable while she waited for the game proper to load.

Her version of Pokémon Moon waited for her to finally finish Victory Road and take on the final challenges for a while, but it was not like she had enough time or room to do so without having her attention dragged somewhere else. Maybe that was the opportunity for her to do so at last... Or so she thought.

The music coming from her device was still audible, though, and Lion could clearly recognize the Pokémon Center tune.

"Yo, is that Pokémon?" He immediately rose his head, staring at Trish, who almost flinched at the friendly reaction from the hoodied figure.

"Yeah! Moon version," she answered. "I just recently finished all the trials... About ready to make my way to the Victory Road. Haven't had a whole lot of time to play on my own, so I guess this has been a long time coming."

"Funny coincidence," Lion started; "I'm playing Pokémon too. Except I've already done all that song and dance before. Grinding for eggs now. It's a bit boring, but with some luck and patience, you can create some fucking strong Pokémon... I guess that's what I'm looking forward to."

"Good luck with that, then," Trish blinked, before turning her attention back to her 3DS, her hand making its way to the volume dial immediately. After all, it was the music that tipped Lion off. "And I'm sorry if my game is a bit loud... I don't... have earplugs on me today."

"For shame," Lion snarked, smirking at Trish in order to make sure she knew he was just joking. "I don't mind, though. You can listen to it. I will say, though... If you need any help with your Victory Road climb, let me know. I can trade you some 'Mons to make the job easier."

"... huh?" Trish turned to him, like a curious kitten.

"I've been playing this for a long while. Got some level 100 ones already. Trivializes the entire fucking thing," he laughed.

"I guess it does," she chuckled somberly. "We'll see how it goes. I'll try my best to not need to bother you with trades and whatnot."

Lion didn't answer that. The redhead had no idea if his silence was a means to let her know he didn't like her response, or just that he had nothing to say to that... Which made her shrink unto herself and bring her attention right back to her game. But what seemed to be an awkward pause between them quickly turned into something Trish could've never anticipated.

"You know," Lion spoke up, softer than before. "It's been a while since I've last had the chance to get someone to help me through the Battle Tree."

A confused Trish rose her head again, blinking. "Battle... Tree?"

"Yeah Like, the Battle Tower of the game. There's a two-player mode where two trainers blaze through a gauntlet of challengers. And... You know. Can't do it all on my own, and fuck playing with the AI," Lion snickered. "I'd be really happy if you could help me with that. And in turn, I can help you with your Victory Road trip. Give you some strong ‘Mons. I've been playing this on my lonesome for a while, got some really jacked up ones sitting in my box; pretty sure you could make better use of them than I could ever expect to. Not all of ‘em are Electric, though."

"W-Well, I'd be glad to, but... My Pokémons aren't that strong..." Trish scratched her head.

"If they're level 50, you're good to go. Mine will have to get nerfed to level 50 anyway, it's the rule of the game," Lion shrugged.

"Oh!" Trish blinked again. "Well, in that case... Sure! We can do that. I just... I don't think I ever connected my 3DS to the school's Wi-Fi network, so I currently don't have--"

Her thought process was cut short when she saw Lion extend his hand out to her. There was a brief moment of silent confusion before he spoke up. "Give me your 3DS, I'll set it all up for you."

"... so you... have the password?" Trish asked innocently.

"Of course I do. I'd love to say that it's because I got friends in high places, but it was more of a sleuth job than anything else," Lion smirked. "So... Will ya? I'll set it all up for you, and you'll never have to worry about it again."

"I mean... Sure!" A surprised Trish sheepishly handed her 3DS over to Lion, with the only thing keeping her from believing something bad would happen to it being the fact he himself had his own 3DS right there.

With a series of taps and button presses, using his own stylus to navigate his way through the device's system screens, Lion silently connected Trish's handheld to the school's Wi-Fi network, making but a quick test to see if everything was working properly, before handing the thing back to the redhead. "Here you are," he said, as Trish picked up her 3DS, watching as the screen still flashed the recently acquired connection. "And let me know when you wanna tackle the Battle Tree. No rush; I'm still grinding for eggs here."

"... well, I think we could...try that right now," Trish brought the game back into her screen, seemingly unaltered by the new connection, but still inside the Pokémon Center, where the multiplayer interface was available. "You set up the connection for me, so... I think it's only fair we do it now. Kind of, like... My thanks to you."

"You don't have to treat it like a fucking compromise, you know," Lion snickered; "but I'm not gonna say no if you wanna go for it."

Trish blinked, trying to read Lion's smirk. That loner boy was sure a mystery -- at the same time he was somewhat of a dark presence, there was a hint of wanting to have her company there. It was weird. Soon Trish had found her way to the Battle Tree, waiting for Lion to do the same so they could connect to one another's game and climb the gauntlet together. "I've never had double battles before... Not with an actual partner," Trish admitted; "How does that all work?"

"I'll lead the way. Don't worry about it," Lion nodded. "I'm here, let's do this."

Lion and Trish quickly went through the linking process, a more bureaucratic process than anything else, and ultimately walked into the gauntlet itself.

"You're gonna realize that all Pokémons are restricted to level 50, like I said," Lion spoke up almost didactically; "so everyone is on the same power level, so to speak. You'll see when this first battle begins. Oh, and make sure to put the two Pokémon you wanna have on the battlefield at the top. You know how it works."

"R-Right," Trish quickly changed that before the first battle began. And while she could definitely recognize her trusty Jolteon upfront, the other beast in her team was a Riolu nicknamed... "Belle?" She asked out loud. "That's cute. Gift from someone?"

"No," Lion answered with the same poker face of always. "Mine."

"... you... named it... Belle?" Trish blinked.

That comment made Lion rise his head and stared at her stonefacedly, cocking his eyebrows as if throwing a challenge. "I did. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Oh, n-no! Not at all. Unexpected, is all," Trish turned her attention back to her game, looking all over the screen for more observations. And true to what Lion said, her Jolteon, one of her oldest and strongest Pokémon, had indeed been brought down to level 50, although his moves remained the same. And with that realization alone, she knew exactly what to do for her turns. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"Good," Lion smirked again; "because depending on how far we can go, we may be here a while."

Trish looked at the screen again and sighed. For the first time ever, she sat in a club with someone else that could tell her she would be there a while and not feel freaked out. "You know," she started, mindlessly; "I've never been in this situation before. You know, sitting in a club with someone else without worrying whether someone's trying to stare up my skirt or something."

"Wow, a boy and a girl being friendly with one another without any fucked up sexual tension? Who'd-a thought," Lion snarked, his eyes never leaving the screen of his 3DS.

"It's not even that," Trish scratched her head. "It's just that, in all other clubs I've been a part of... Or even during classes sometimes... People are always looking at me like I'm some kind of alien. Maybe it's my eyes... Maybe it's... Well." She wanted to mention her shapely body and oversized breasts, two parts of her that definitely attracted the attention of the hornier boys and the jealous girls. But it didn't feel appropriate to talk about such things around Lion and make the conversation weird.

"You gotta own those things about you," Lion shrugged. "People will try to pick on you for the stupidest shit. And at the end of the day, you need to be able to own those things about you and fight back somehow. Not to mention..." He rose his head, looked into her eyes for a second, analyzing the almost alien structure of her eyes, before turning right back to his screen. "I think your eyes are very pretty."

Trish blushed (not that Lion could see it) and lowered her head, clutching her 3DS a bit stronger. "T-Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Lion smiled. "Just pay attention to the game."

"Oh!" Trish looked more attentively to the screen, realizing she had to pick a move for her Jolteon. Not that it mattered what she picked: right after she ordered her Eeveelution to zap the opposing Pokémon into submission, Lion's Belle one-shot it, winning them the battle almost instantly. "... wow. Are you sure you need my help with this?" She joked, watching as a victorious smirk crept up his face.

"It's more fun to play with a friend than doing so alone. And if you think that was impressive, just wait to see what Riot Grrl can do," Lion mentioned, propping his feet up on the desk once more.

"... Riot Grrl?" Trish asked in confusion.

"Yeah. My Luxio," Lion answered, matter of fact.

And for a moment, Trish had no idea if she should react more strongly to the fact he, an edgy, super serious presence, had a Pokémon named Riot Grrl... Or the fact he called her a friend.

"... Yeah," Trish smiled softly. "I want to see what Riot Grrl can do."

"And if you like what you see, I have another Luxio with similar stats I can give you later," he nodded. Trish nodded back, humming positively.

"I'm sure I will."

...

...

...

Trish had no idea that the previous day would've been so pleasant. With Lion's help, she not only managed to get through the Battle Tree and earn herself amazing items for her climb up Victory Road, but also was given two ridiculously strong beasts to help her ascent.

The memory of what had happened the previous day was stuck in her mind as the classes ended for the day. But instead of going to the Video Game Club once again to spend her downtime playing games and waiting for her ride home, she had a special assignment: meeting up with Tabitha, so they could talk about their team assignment.

All that Trish knew about Tabby was that the otherwise shy and antisocial girl was glad to have been paired up with someone who, at the very least, was as weird and targeted for her visuals as she was, even if for vastly different reasons. But she was on a roll with breaking through people's defenses and prevailing over misconceptions, so meeting up with the so-called cat girl wouldn't be such a hassle, would it?

They had a place for their rendezvous, and much to the redhead's surprise, the girl with the blue bob cut was right there, waiting for her. Making a beeline to Tabitha, Trish made sure to approach carefully, as the shy girl seemed to be distracted.

"H-Hey, Tabby?" Trish approached carefully, and Tabitha almost jumped in place with the scare, but quickly realized it was her classmate.

"Crud, don't scare me like that," Tabitha complained, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"Sorry," the redhead cast her mate a coy smile; "and I'm sorry it took me this long to come here. Literature teacher decided to go past the ending bells a bit."

"Don't worry about that," Tabitha sighed, putting her backpack on the table to collect her notebook and pencil case. "So, the Maths assignment--"

"Hey, do you like video games?" Trish blurted out. It was automatic, and she didn't even realize she'd said it until she heard her voice echo... And Tabitha's confused reaction to something so random.

"... what does this have to do with anything?" Tabby asked, pulling her pencil case from her backpack at a slower pace, staring at the redhead with an eyebrow cocked.

"I... know it doesn't make sense, and no, it doesn't have a single thing to do with the Maths assignment, but... Do you?" Trish insisted. Might as well roll with it, since it was what was on her mind.

"I think I do? I never really thought too much about it. I have some games at home, but I'm usually doing something else with my time," Tabitha answered, putting her backpack down after finally retrieving her materials. "Why do you ask?"

"Well... Y-you see..." Trish scratched her head, drawing in a big sigh before deciding to share the whole thing with her classmate. "Yesterday, I stumbled across the Video Game Club."

There was a pause between them, as Trish expected Tabby to connect the dots immediately. She was right about her being able to remember what was so important about said club, but it took her a couple of seconds, simply because of how unexpected it all was. "Oh, crap, right, the Video Game Club," Tabitha shook her head, and then nodded. "I mean, I couldn't possibly see myself inside a club where people just sit around and play games, so if you were to ask me to join the club, I don't think I could. But I think there's something else you wanna let me know with this."

"The rumors about the club are kind of true. It'd be pretty much barren if not for Lion," Trish added. "And, see, I... wasn't even looking to join the club per se, because I don't have a lot of time to play games myself, but when I found it, and I saw him there, it was like... I needed to walk in and talk to him. And turns out we had a... great time playing Pokémon."

Tabitha was having a hard time reading Trish's comments. it didn't sound like she had the greatest of times, but it certainly looked like the redhead had enjoyed herself immensely. "Right," she drawled out; "and your point is?"

"My point is... Well, I remember you were kinda off-put after our last interaction with Lion," Trish answered, leaning on the table. "It wasn't hard to read it from your face."

"I'm usually off-put after interactions with pretty much everyone in this school," Tabitha said with a tinge of shame and embarrassment.

"No, that was different. I know you felt weird because someone was standing up for you for a change... Even if it was kind of... harsh and vulgar in its essence. My point is, I met Lion, and I got to see the guy behind the curses, behind all the sound and fury. And I think you would like to get to know him too."

"You mean to tell me you're smitten with him?" Tabitha asked boldfacedly, not even casting Trish a smirk, which would've signaled she was joking.

"N-No! I just-- He's a friendly guy, and... Look. I know I haven't said this before, and I don't think anyone has, but... I care for you," Trish started, smiling at Tabitha. "You don't seem to wanna make a lot of friends here in the school, and I can see where you're coming from. But I want to be your friend. And I want you to make friends."

"Easy to say when you're the people person here," Tabitha murmured, wishing to hide behind her notebooks.

"Believe me, it's a front. I'm forcing myself to get out there and be talkative. But people think I'm weird. They call me all sorts of things because of my eyes. Alien girl, robot, freak. All the boys wanna grope me, most of the girls think I'm a snobby little asshole. It's not fun, but I'm trying my best. And I don't wanna see someone like you alone, because I know you're a nice person."

"... thanks," Tabitha sniffed; "but I like keeping my distance from people. You never know when one of them can turn against you and screw you over."

"Not what I plan to do, and from what I gather, not what Lion would do either. He's a good guy," Trish smiled. "He helped me a lot yesterday, simply because he felt good about having company. Not what he told me, but it's what I wanna believe anyway. I think you could use some company too. I... don't wanna try and shove video games down your throat, but there's some... good, honest fun to be had when you put your worries to the side for a moment. Heh, imagine that -- the little band of misfits, banding together for a change."

"You have a funny, poetic way of putting it. It's not that easy, though," Tabitha snickered, opening her notebooks and her Math book. "You know what? If you insist... I think I can give it a try. I'm not good at video games, like, AT ALL, but if you think the Video game Club is the best way for us all to get together, then maybe I could pay a visit."

"That's awesome!" Trish celebrated... But then Tabitha rose a finger.

"I have one condition, though," the blue-haired teenager quickly added. "If things start to go awry... And I feel that I may end up getting screwed over by him and you... I'm bailing. Like, immediately."

"It's only fair. But think about it for a second," Trish smiled softly. "The last time we were all together, he was standing up for us. For you. Do you really think he's the kind of guy who would build a friendship with us only to screw you over and call you names just like those other mean girls did? If anything, I think he's kind of an outcast just like us. I don't see him doing that."

"Alright," Tabitha lowered her head, searching for the right page on her book... As a sly smirk crept up on her face. "You're totally smitten with him, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not" Trish protested, which FINALLY brought a soft laugh to Tabitha's complexion.

"Okay. It's a compromise. One of these days, you take me to the Video Game Club, and the three of us can have a chat," Tabitha added. "But not today. We have a Maths assignment to do."

"Oh! Of course!" Trish shook her head as she finally removed her backpack from her shoulders and started digging into it for her own Maths materials. She couldn't help but smile, however, at the fact she finally got to break through both Lion's and Tabitha's defenses.

Maybe the tide was starting to change for this little assembly of misfits.


	3. Part of the Problem

Tabitha had lost track of how long it had been since she locked herself inside one of the stalls in the girls’ bathroom at school, and there was little sense in looking at her cellphone, as the clock did little to nothing to help her. All because of an anxiety spike: as classes adjourned for the day, she almost stumbled into Susie, the bully who just loved to make her life hell on earth, and had to double back to avoid conflict. It was one of those days where she just didn’t want to get in trouble… Well, all days were like that, but that day in particular felt harder to deal with.

She knew why she felt like that. Her group assignment with Trish was almost due, and the idea of having to present it in front of the whole class just made the blue-haired outcast wish to shrivel up and disappear. Everybody would be looking at her, most likely judging her, making small talk of her fatness, her grossness, her overall hideousness… Things that she put inside her own head, things that were nigh impossible to uproot and throw away.

But the simple notion that she’d have lost track of time would mean that it was safe to walk out and not stumble upon anyone… Right? “M-Maybe wait a little longer…” She whispered to herself, almost trying to convince herself--

The door to the public bathroom was swung open with some enthusiasm -- violence, even -- and Tabby had to hold her yelp back in her surprise. She didn’t even have the time to figure out what was going on, as two pairs of steps were heard barging into the room. “The GIRLS’ bathroom?!” One of the voices rang out, a playful feminine one.

“Who the fuck cares,” the other voice echoed shortly after, before noises of sloppy kissing and fabric rubbing took over. It was a male voice.

Tabitha immediately froze in place as she heard a masculine voice inside the women’s bathroom. Mortified, even. She could feel her blood-curling within, as she lifted her legs and hugged her knees, sitting in a fetal-esque position on the toilet as a cold sweat started to break.

The animalesque noises continued, as the couple that’d invaded the bathroom sloppily collided against every wall of the public toilet, including a HARD bump against the door of the stall where Tabby sat in. The blue-haired student held back another yelped, her eyes going wide with terror even though she couldn’t see what was going on.

“Someone’s gonna see us,” the female voice rang out again in a whisper, some wicked seduction in its undertones.

“That stall,” the other voice replied. Following that, Tabitha heard them walking into the stall right next to hers. She didn’t want to know what was going to go down there, but the sequence of sounds told her a story. The door closing. The lock sliding in. More kissing and soft moaning. Fabric being ruffled. Metallic clinks, almost inaudible, but thunderous in the otherwise completely silent bathroom. “Yeah, right there,” he spoke up again in a purr, as the female giggled.

“Shut up,” she hushed; “I think there’s someone next door.”

“Nah, pretty sure we’re alone here,” he answered. “Go ahead.”

The short silence that followed allowed Tabitha to connect the dots. A man and a woman barging into a public bathroom -- the women’s, no less… Moans, hushes, and pleas… How could people be so bold?!

But even worse, she figured, she’d have to sit quietly inside her stall until they were done if she wanted to avoid attracting attention. Of course, it didn’t occur to her that she could attempt to sneak out of the bathroom, being as quiet as possible; at the same time, however, maybe she thought it was impossible for someone as clumsy and gross as herself to be silent and get away unscathed. That was going to be one of the worst rides she’d ever been in, and she hadn’t even paid admission.

Going by the noises, she could only assume what was going on in the next stall, but after what she would later assume to be the sound of pants being unzipped and sliding down someone’s legs, it would become a little bit too on the nose. “Well, look at you,” the female voice purred before a spitting noise followed.

“Yeah, you get it nice and wet,” the male heaved; that was followed by stroking noises of some sort. Tabitha could see someone going to their knees from the little space visible under the screen separating the stalls. Giggles, hums and soft grunts followed, and the cat just wanted to scream and vanish from existence. It wasn’t enough for the whole thing to leave so little to the imagination, Tabby felt horrible for even having the ability to imagine the whole thing happening. Slurping noises followed. Wet, sloppy sucking. Tabitha held back another squeal, trembling on her seat, as the male voice on the other stall chuckled and purred in delight. “Shit,” he heaved; “you really know what you’re doing. Bet you’re the best cock sucker in the entire school.”

The female grunted in disapproval as if she wasn’t into that kind of dirty talking, but the sucking noises continued nonetheless. Then, a gasp for air. “Don’t make me regret this,” she said; “and shut the fuck up, someone may walk in.” And then, the sucking resumed.

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be happening,” he said, unabashed pride and confidence in his voice. More fabric rustling noises joined the wet sloppy cacophony. He snickered, she groaned.

“The fuck you need that for?” She asked.

“Oh, you know,” he said. An electronic beep followed, immediately followed by an irritated gasp from the girl. “I like to keep mementos of these things.”

“Oh, fuck you! Put that shit away!” She protested, her voice even louder now, almost as if she didn’t care for people walking in on them anymore. Odd sounds followed, things that, for once, Tabitha couldn’t make out what it was, but punctuated with soft grunts of effort coming from the girl, and victorious chuckles from the boy.

“I thought you were afraid of people hearing us,” he roared at her. A dull thud followed, coming from the floor, as the girl whimpered in pain, probably after having hit the ground with some force. “I’m just recording this for myself. It’s not every day that we get to drag the best cock sucker in school into a bathroom--”

“Stop saying this shit! I’m-- You can suck yourself, you asshole,” the girl started. Tabby saw the girl, once on her knees, get up… And then be pushed down right back onto her knees.

“A bit too late for that, don’t you think?” He said darkly. “I already have enough images of your pretty mouth on my cock. I wonder what people would think if they saw just a frame of this recording.”

“You wouldn’t--!” The girl seemed shocked, almost as much as Tabitha was. By now she’d already figured that he was now holding erotic images of her as blackmail, and that whole interaction turned from a naughty tryst between two willing people to an uncomfortable standoff in a matter of seconds.

“I mean, what would you say to defend yourself? Ain’t nobody with a gun to your head,” he chuckled; “I just want to keep a recording for myself, babe. All you gotta do is keep doing what you do best. Or you leave, and the whole-ass school gonna know you dragged me into the girls’ bathroom to suck my cock and then decided to call it rape when things got a little spicier.”

And then… Silence.

Tabitha was between the complete and utter shock of the entire situation, and the wicked anticipation over what was about to happen. While she wanted to jump in the defense of that girl, she had no idea who it was, or what was about to happen.

And then, following a defeated groan from the girl… The slurping noises resumed. “Now that’s a good little whore,” he said, following pointed annoyed whimpers from the girl, probably when he patted her head, and more groans of dissatisfaction. It wasn’t a good idea for her anymore, but he was probably having the time of his life. “What a good cock sucker you are, really… Fuck, this is good…”

“I fucking hate you…” She said, in another interval between the sucking noises.

“Dick eating whore says what?” his voice roared, before a cry of shock escaped the girl, and a violent gag followed. Tabitha couldn’t help but gasp herself, bringing one hand to her mouth as her eyes welled up; but apparently neither person in the other stall noticed it.

More gagging noises followed. Horrific, nightmarish for Tabitha. She had to endure every last second of that mind-bogglingly uncomfortable audio-play right next door, and as tears streamed down her face out of pure horror, she just wished it was over soon. For her own sake, and that of the other girl being subjected to all that.

The anxiety-ridden student attempted with all of her power to phase out the noises going on in the next stall, as everything happening there was triggering her fear of dealing with the rest of the people in that school even more. She attempted to muffle her ears with her palms to drown out the noises, but it didn’t work: the bathroom was so silent that every little sound could be heard anyway.

There was a moment, though, when Tabitha thought she’d managed to stifle the unsettling cacophony next door. It took her a little moment to realize that the noises themselves had ceased, and when she took her hands out of her ears, she heard nothing for a moment. ‘Are they… gone?’ She thought to herself…

… before a loud, exaggerated spitting noise followed. “You could’ve at least warned me you were gonna nut, you creep,” the female sounded, angry beyond comprehension.

“And ruin the surprise?” The male spoke up. Another electronic beep followed. “Didn’t think you were a spitter, though.”

“I NEVER… want to look at your mug again, you idiot,” she answered. More fabric ruffling noises followed. Clicks of sneakers on the tiled floor. And then a failure at opening the stall door, followed by a hearty laugh.

“Oh, you’re gonna see me a whole lot of times. I know you can’t resist me,” he said. “Not to mention… I could share that mouth of yours with the whole school. Your choice.”

The door to the stall next door swung open violently, crashing against the wall with a reverberating explosion. As the voices stopped completely, a seemingly disconnected sequence of noises followed. Running water. More spitting. A toilet flush. More clicking of feminine sneakers against tiles. A short silence before the same metallic clinks of someone’s belt being put back on.

“The women’s bathroom is way cleaner than the men’s. Huh,” the male voice spoke to itself absentmindedly as more steps were heard walking around. And then, FINALLY, he, too, left the public bathroom, and Tabitha was gifted with the loneliness she yearned so badly at that moment.

She finally had the chance to let out all of her reactions to the rollercoaster she’d begrudgingly been through. And it all surfaced to her in an ugly crying session, as she hugged her legs and allowed her emotions to flow out of her as viscerally as possible.

There wasn’t a single person in that school she could rely on at that moment.

Except, maybe...

…

…

…

It had been a couple of weeks since Trish and Tabitha joined the Video Game Club. And while Tabitha wasn’t as regular an attendee as Trish, the redhead was always there to kill time and get some pointers with Lion. As it would turn out, she would learn he’s one hell of a memory bank and knows his way around some puzzles that Trish herself would be stuck with. That afternoon in particular was Elite Four night on her Pokémon Moon game, and Lion sat as nonchalantly on the desk as he could, feet propped up on the backrest of the seat in front of him, smirking at the reactions from Trish as the overpowered beasts he’d lent her wrecked the opposing team.

“Holy moly!” The redhead celebrated. “Pixie just basically one-shot this battle!”

“I told ya,” Lion shrugged victoriously. “Level 100 Pokémon trivialize the whole fucking--”

It was then that, all of a sudden, the classroom’s door swung open and Tabitha walked in. It wasn’t her usual way of joining them, either, she would usually be discreet in her attempts of being invisible. This time, she seemed to be in a hurry, before collapsing on the first available seat and burying her face into her palms and sobbing.

“... the fuck…?” Was Lion’s first reaction, his body leaning forward.

“Tabitha?!” Trish was immediately worried, putting her 3DS aside to rush over to her classmate. It didn’t look like Tabitha was crying, but she was a shivering mess. The redhead placed a hand on Tabby’s shoulder, rubbing it for comfort, but got no reaction from the blue-haired student. “Tabitha?! What happened? Why are you shivering like this?”

“N-Nothing!” Tabitha replied, going against her own notion of seeking Lion and Trish out for help. The sound of Tabby’s shaky, muffled voice made Lion roll his eyes and lean back on his seat.

“Maybe she’s just fucking cold then. She’ll come around eventually,” Lion said, before resting his head on the wall behind him and closing his eyes as if he was about ready to take a nap.

“I don’t think that’s true,” Trish insisted. “C’mon, Tabitha. You know we’re here for you. It’s not like you to barge in like this and collapse into tears immediately. Tell me what’s up, honey, please?”

The events that had happened in that bathroom stall no more than 15 minutes before were still fresh in Tabitha’s mind. She shuddered to think another girl in that school had been roped into something she didn’t want. And sex without consent is basically rape! Why was everyone in that school such a horrible person? What if the next one being dragged into that sort of situation was her?!

“I can’t take it anymore…” Tabitha finally whimpered under her breath.

“Wh-What was that?” Trish leaned towards her, in an attempt to listen to what she had to say.

Finally, Tabitha rose. Her eyes were red from crying, but her face wasn’t -- it was white with fear, as hefty beads of cold sweat poured down her forehead. “I think I just heard a girl being abused,” she stated, looking into Trish’s eyes and watching as the redhead was taken aback by the weight of these words. “I was in the bathroom and… I heard some creep… Holy smokes, why is everyone in this school a creep?! I mean, they’re EVERYWHERE!”

“Calm down, you’re all over the fucking place,” Lion interjected, putting his feet down on the ground as he stared across the room at Tabitha. “The fuck do you mean by all that?”

“I mean that… There are bullies everywhere in this school, and they’re out here doing whatever the heck they want!” Tabitha explained, outraged. “I just heard a girl being abused in the bathroom, and next thing I know, these freaks will come after people like… me! Or you!” She said, referring to Trish, who reacted immediately with a gasp, half out of genuine fear that it could eventually happen, half out of humoring Tabitha. “I just… wanted to see something done about it… I don’t really feel safe with those creeps out there.” She sighed and tried to calm herself down; indeed, Lion was right: she was all over the place, and it was muddling her message. “I just wished more people in this school were like you, Lion.”

“... but why, though?”

Tabitha cocked an eyebrow at Lion’s question. He sounded genuinely confused by the remarks from the blue-haired student, but inside Tabby’s broken mind, it almost sounded like a challenge. “You protected me and Trish when we were under attack. More people should be able to act for good instead of allowing freaking bullies and harassers to do as they please all the time, that’s all,” she responded with a tinge of annoyance to her voice.

“It just happened that I was there when all that was going on. You shouldn’t be counting on coincidences all the time,” Lion shrugged softly and made a mention to reach into his own backpack to retrieve his own handheld, as it looked like Trish wasn’t going to play anymore.

“Not to mention, y’all shouldn’t be counting on me to do the job all the time. I’m not omnipresent, I won’t be there all the time.”

“I get what she’s saying, Lion,” Trish interjected. “We know you’re only one guy, but if the school had more guys like you, it would be super.”

Lion let out a loud groan-like sigh, placing his 3DS on the desk and adjusting his beanie before leaning on his seat and looking right at Trish and Tabitha. “Y’all ever thought about being those guys yourselves instead of waiting for someone else to do the damn job for you?”

Tabitha and Trish traded glances in visible confusion, before Tabitha finally got up from her seat, looking at Lion with a weird feeling of disappointment washing over her. “What are you talking about?”

“Ever heard that old phrase, ‘be the change you wanna see in the world’?” Lion replied, stonefaced. “I mean, yeah, it’s hella convenient for you guys to be around me if I can deck someone in the fucking face for being an idiot, but what if I ain’t there? Y’all gonna let some two-penny abortion run over you? In a way, that’s being part of the problem, ‘cause if y’all won’t put in the effort to defend yourselves because someone else can do it for you, then these idiots’re gonna be all over you when they notice you on your own!”

“... makes sense--” Trish started, making sense of Lion’s words… But Tabitha was having none of that.

“Part of the problem?!” The catgirl roared in outrage, another wave of cold sweat washing over her. “Are you kidding me?! Don’t talk like we’re looking for trouble! Some of us aren’t really able to defend ourselves as you do! I can’t run, I can’t hurt people, what are you talking about?!”

“I know it’s gonna sound cute coming from me, but there are more ways to solve a conflict other than violence,” Lion crossed his arms. “These are just the ways I found worked for me.”

“And nobody’s coming after you for that!” Tabitha replied.

“Then it’s up to you to find the method that fucking works for you,” Lion squinted. “I ain’t your fucking babysitter.”

Trish saw the side of Tabitha’s mouth twitch for a moment in anger before she spoke up: “Tabitha, calm down. He’s kinda--”

“You’re an asshole, you know that?”

“Excuse me?” Lion rose from his seat, standing up just like Tabitha, as the two engaged in a rather uncomfortable standoff even though they were across the classroom from one another.

“If you’re just gonna leave people hanging on their own when they’re relying on you, you’re a creep just like those assholes out there!” Tabitha stomped the ground in fury, before turning tail and walking in the direction of the door. “It was a mistake coming here!”

“What the hell?!” Trish attempted to stop Tabitha, but her blue-haired classmate was surprisingly fast in her escape from the room. She then stared at Lion across the room, watching as the sneer on his face was beyond loaded with confusion as he mouthed to himself…

“What the fuck’s gotten into her?!”

…

With her head low and flabbergasted with Lion’s words (even though she couldn’t possibly realize he actually had a pretty optimistic point behind all the vitriol), Tabitha stormed down the hallway of the school’s second floor as her eyes welled up. How could he?! In a moment where she needed support, say she’s part of the problem? What an idiot!

In her distraction, however, she didn’t see someone walking a perpendicular hallway in her direction. As they absent-mindedly checked their cell phone, they took the corner leading into the hallway Tabitha was storming down and… The obvious happened.

With a dull thud, two bodies collided and collapsed. “Ow! Fuck!” The masculine voice roared as the burly athlete fell on his ass, his phone flying away from his hand and landing a few inches away from him. He then stared at what -- or who -- struck him and watched as the plump student slowly got up, beating her clothes clean and whimpering in soft pain. “With a force like that, I thought it was another football player trying to tackle me down, but it’s a fat cow, who’d’ve thought!”

Tabitha rose her head to see where the insults were coming from and saw him get up to his feet. Louis was a known offender in the school: womanizer, harasser, everything he could get away with for being such a big, athletic male in the football team. Some of his fellow football players were big enablers of his toxic attitude, especially because they enjoyed how that “freebird” put on his idiot persona and hurt everyone in his wake. “I-I’m… s-s-sorry…” Tabby stuttered when she realized who she’d just stumbled into, frozen in place as she watched him retrieve his phone, check the front screen for cracks, and then stuffing it back in his pocket.

And he just stood there. Squinting at the shivering cat in front of him, as Tabitha had little reaction, and was half expecting something to go awfully wrong. Saying nothing, just putting his hands on his waist and waiting to see what SHE would do next.

“I’m… really sorry. Excuse me,” she finally moved, squishing herself into the wall and trying to walk past the big man. And for a moment, she even thought he was going to let her walk away and be done with it.

That hope was crushed when he reached for her neck and pushed her against the wall, her head almost hitting the fire extinguisher that was right there (not that he cared either way). She whimpered when she saw her spine hit the cold cement, her eyes widening as she stared at the grinning footballer, panic washing over her. “You’re lucky you didn’t crack my phone, but you’re gonna need more than an apology to make up for that shit,” he growled, watching her face flush in terror.

“Wh-what do you want…?!” Tabitha’s clouded eyes started overflowing, as tears finally started running down her cheeks, no matter how hard she attempted to fight them back to show any level of resistance. Her voice was almost inaudible, as the fear she felt overpowered her ability to project her thoughts. “P-p-please, just… Let go…!”

Louis ogled her body up and down, and that was enough to draw another gasp from her when she realized what was going on. “You’re not my kind of girl, but I guess you can do something for me. Because I’m kind of stressed after you almost broke my bones, but I guess fat fucks like you are good for one thing.” He then brought his free hand to her stomach, tugging at her tucked in shirt. As her eyesight followed her movements, she whimpered again and struggled to shake free from him, blaming herself for having prophesied that she would be the next to fall to the neverending abuse. “Get comfortable, ‘cause you’re gonna apologize to me with those fat titties.”

“What?! What are you doing?!” Tabitha struggled, her voice now fully projected, mostly because of her fight-or-flight instinct to shake free and call for help, especially when she could feel the footballer’s hand touching her stomach and further tugging her shirt up looking for the clasp on her bra.

“I’m gonna get your fat tits out,” Louis replied; “and if you keep shaking like this, I’m gonna have to--”

“WHAT THE FUCK’S GOING ON HERE?!”

The voice came from where Tabitha originally walked out of, as Lion and Trish heard the cries for help. When the football player looked to his side, it was a bit too late, as an enraged Lion barreled down the hallway and tackled him to the ground, not only effectively bringing him away from Tabitha but also making him crash onto the ground with so much more power than when he’d simply stumbled upon the catgirl. Louis and Lion rolled on the floor for a couple of feet, with the latter sliding away from the former to help himself up. “What the hell?!” Louis complained as he got his footing back, noticing the scratch on the side of his face that was now starting to leak blood.

“Says me! What the fuck, dude?!” Lion returned the question, as Trish immediately went for the aid of a shivering, terrorized Tabitha.

Louis took the time to ‘admire’ how that skinny little dude managed to draw first blood from him, letting that fuel him into getting in a good fight. “You son of a bitch…” He popped back to his feet just as Lion did the same, and the two students threw all caution to the wind and decided to go for it. By this time, people from the other clubs started peeking out of their doors to see what was going on, and whispers about how a fight had broken out on the hallways started spreading, with some of the most eager students starting a chant: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

And fight they did: before they cared to make sense of it, Lion and Louis started throwing punches and kicks wildly, without much in the way of technique because neither was a trained fighter; they just wanted to hurt one another at that point. The taller Louis aimed for Lion’s face and got some hooks to his cheeks, but the slightly smaller Lion aimed for the stomach. One, two, three punches, all connecting into solid muscle, and it almost looked like the footballer was going to wreck the gamer.

“We need to do something!!!” A panicked Trish screeched, looking at all sides as the fight blocked the hallway she’d have to go down in order to find the stairs leading down to where she could get some authority to help.

And then she spotted the fire extinguisher.

While the redhead mused about the stupidest thing she could do at that moment, however, Lion landed the punch of his life. Finding the center of Louis’ diaphragm, the smaller student managed to fold the bigger one, putting him at eye level. As the air was knocked out of the footballer’s lungs and he coughed, Lion took the chance to punch the bigger man right in the nose with the maximum power he could, without caring if that would hurt or break his hand.

Down like a log came the footballer. Completely off balance after having his nose busted open by Lion, Louis crashed on the hallway like a sack of bricks, and that was when the whole hallway erupted in cheers as the fight had found a victor. “SON OF A BITCH!” Lion roared, mounting and straddling the footballer’s body and grabbing a handful of his hair before he could properly recover. “How’s it feel to throw down with someone who can actually fight back?!” He taunted as he delivered punch after punch after the punch to the rival’s face, all caution thrown to the wind. The gamer would feel his hand hurting, but the joy of knowing Louis hurt more was worth the effort. “NEVER! FUCKING! TOUCH! A GIRL! LIKE THAT! AGAIN!” Lion commanded, punctuating his words with powerful jabs to the footballer’s face. “YOU! FUCKING--!”

Lion felt a pair of hands reach his chest, and suddenly, he was ejected away from Louis. The footballer had gathered as much of his consciousness as he could and shoved the gamer away, giving himself enough space to get back to his feet, albeit on wobbly legs and cloudy sight. “I’mma fucking kill you, you little bitch!” Louis groaned as he tried to get his footing back, watching as Lion quickly scrambled back to his vertical base as well.

When his sight cleared up, though, he saw Lion with his guard up, ready to throw down once more. Behind him, a buxom redhead clumsily grasping a fire extinguisher like a shield, ready to bash it over someone’s head. And all around him, curious, hungry eyes of other students, witnesses to the walloping he took and purveyors of the humiliation he was worthy of following a defeat in battle against someone smaller than him.

“You, kill me? For a football player, you punch like a preschooler,” Lion taunted him, loud enough for Louis to hear it, but not enough for the sea of watchers to react to it.

“You better have eyes on the back of your head, bitch,” Louis growled as he stumbled away from the assembly of outcasts. “Because I’m gonna fuck you up when you least expect it.”

Lion said nothing else, keeping his guard up all the time, expecting the football player to break into a running back-esque sprint to try and take him down. But when the spectators noticed Louis was effectively walking away from the scene of the tussle, the deafening cacophony of boos and ridicule erupted again, offering Louis his well-deserved consolation prize.

Trish and Lion waited until Louis was well out of sight to relax, the redhead allowing the fire extinguisher to rest on the ground while Lion let his guard down and turned to Tabitha, a crying mess on the floor. “Holy shit, dude -- is everything okay?!” He lowered to a knee beside her, noticing her shirt half undone and how much of a shivering, tearful wreck she was. “C’mon, let’s go back to the club. We’ll keep you safe.”

When Tabitha rose her head to talk back to Lion, she saw his hand extended out to her, and a concerned look on his (damaged) face. “Why did you--?”

“We can talk about that later. C’mon, get the fuck up,” Lion insisted. Tabitha took her time, but it wasn’t like she had a lot of options: taking Lion’s hands, the blue-haired girl got up to her feet…

… and noticed Lion wasn’t going to let go of her hands.

“I got you,” he said, looking not at Tabby, but at the door of the Video Game Club, where he wanted to take her. “Let’s go back in, you put yourself back together there.”

Tabitha wiped the tears off her face and looked at Lion’s hand firmly holding hers, in a moment of affection she didn’t expect from the sardonic man she’d come to learn more about with every passing second. And without saying another word, she took the first step, signaling to Lion and Trish she was good to walk.

Only after the trio of misfits disappeared into the Video Game Club, the jeers and whistles started to cease.


	4. Black Cherry Cola

"W-what do you mean, 'perfect actress'?" Trish attempted to feign confidence, but was extremely thrown off by how pushy the bespectacled man talking to her was. "I've never acted before, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I can recognize raw talent when I see it," Richard leaned on his seat and adjusted his glasses on his face. "And if push comes to shove, we can shoot the same scene over and over again until we get a satisfying result. You know how video editing works, dear, tampering with content is what we do best."

The president of the Video Club fancied himself to be a suave and charming guy, believing to be able to exude nerdiness and attractiveness in equal measures, if not the latter more than the former. But when he walks up to women while they're having lunch by themselves, starts talking about the short film the Video Club will be shooting, and mentions their need for a beautiful actress to be featured front and center, it was less charming and more... Creepy. He was lucky Trish was the opposite of confrontational.

"Maybe don't call it 'tampering'," Trish cast him a coy smile, before taking the final bite of her lunch. "But yeah, I do. I'll... give it a thought, 'kay? But I can't give you any guarantees -- I'm gonna be busy during the club trip days. That's why I'm not considering joining any clubs right now."

"Think about it regardless. If this experience works out, we may shoot more videos. There will ALWAYS be a seat for you in MY club," he said, taking Trish's hand and planting a soft kiss on its back before getting up from his seat and making his leave, as sudden as his arrival.

The redhead watched her classmate walk away and waited until he was far away enough before her disgust at the idea crept up her face. It was the second man that day alone asking her about the club trips, except the first one -- one of the lacrosse team jocks -- flat out asked her where the Video Game Club was, and if they were taking members. Their mutual interest in the buxom redhead's company was painfully obvious, as the lacrosse player had literally told Trish, 'fuck the other guys in the club', he just wanted to have a little date.

Why did men have to be so dumb?

She felt the food she had just eaten rolling uncomfortably in her stomach as she stood up and took her empty plate to the counter where the school staff would take care of it. With a polite nod, she left her tray with the kitchen staffer before making her way to the second floor in a hurry. As usual, she'd have to spend the rest of the afternoon at school and, ironically, the safest and most quiet place for her to be was the Video Game Club itself. Looking at all sides, hoping that nobody would reach out to her with another indecent pitch for her to join a club, she mused over how that entire thing was starting to make her paranoid. It was almost like, instead of spring's pollen, fall had trees full with hormones, and it was making the males in school all horny or something.

It stops being funny when they start getting rapey.

Much to her surprise, however, she didn't find the door to the Video Game Club closed, or slightly ajar, but instead completely open. "Huh," she scratched her head in confusion, poking her head in before entering, trying to see what was going on. "H-hi?" She spoke up meekly.

"Hey, Trish!" The redhead quickly heard the voice of her now close friend Tabitha, as she sat on the far end of the room. The blue-haired woman seemed to be a little off-put, and she didn't even have to ask her why.

"Wow, so it's not a mistake. You did rope Trish Ann-Marie into your pet project, huh."

Talking to Lion and perusing the club's enrollment notebook was one of the school's teachers, Lana Lei, the chairwoman of the clubs' department. Not only was she known as a rather unorthodox mathematics teacher, but she also had a fame for being kind of a bitch, and it didn't take a long time around her for one to confirm that part. "Miss Lei," Trish nodded her head in acknowledgment for the teacher before walking into the club, coyly placing her backpack on the first desk available to her, and then watching as she closed the notebook and handed it back to Lion, who offered the redhead a head signal and a 'sup'.

"I'm assuming your club president hasn't yet told you about the bimonthly club trip plans," Lana spoke up. "It's been quite some time since this club's had more than only one person, so maybe you should rethink your usual plans. After all, I don't think Ms. Belrose and Ms. Ann-Marie would be too thrilled about your usual escapades."

"At this point, I'd take anything to stay away from some creeps," Trish said, rolling her eyes... At the same time Tabitha averted Lion's.

Lion's response to Lana's taunt, though, was to sigh deeply, letting his annoyance show. "If you're worried I'm gonna pocket the extra money, teach, you can rest assured I ain't giving you THAT pleasure."

"Ahhhhh, the usual sound and fury," Lana smirked. "I expected no less from you, Mr.--"

"Lion will do," he cut the teacher off before she could mention him by name. "Ain't my style to do anything that's not perfectly kosher. Maybe you should be worried about the fucking football team -- last I heard, there were some rapists there making the rounds. Would be nice if you actually gave a shit about THAT instead of bothering me about my trips to a fucking arcade."

Lana stood there with her arms crossed, staring at Lion and unable to find a way to turn his cusses back against him, before deciding it wasn't worth the effort. "I'll keep my eyes on you regardless," she said, finally turning her back to Lion and facing Tabitha and Trish, shifting her glance between the two. "Ms. Belrose," she acknowledged Tabitha, and a nod to Trish followed -- "Ms. Ann-Marie," she uttered before walking towards the exit door. "Knowing you're part of THIS club sure paints you in a new light. But whatever floats your boat."

And finally, after a dismissive shrug, Lana Lei walked out of the Video Game Club, leaving behind an annoyed Lion, a disgusted Trish, and a thrown off Tabitha. "What a bitch!" The redhead muttered under her breath a few seconds past Lei's exit.

"You can say that again," Lion stuffed the notebook back in his backpack, rather annoyed. "So... The trip. I don't think you've ever been part of a club before," he said, looking at Tabitha; "so here's the skinny: every two months, the clubs' department gives the active clubs a little money for a field trip during which the clubs can spend that dough in whatever the fuck they want as long as it has to do with their core reason of being. And since this is the Video Game Club, and I was the only one here for the longest time, I just used the money to go to a nearby arcade and play games on the school's dime."

"... a bit weird business model there," Tabitha scratched her head, trying to make sense of the entire thing.

"Yeah, I agree. A little ass-backward if you ask me, but they never offered me the option to, you know, NOT take the money, unless I completely choose to have the club's funding cut off entirely," Lion shrugged. "And I have to prove that I used the money accordingly, too. So I just go to the arcade and show 'em the fucking receipts."

"Or else...?" Trish asks. "This isn't a part of the deal I've ever heard about."

"Or else the school charges me with theft and I'm handcuffed out of the facility," Lion snickered, as Trish and Tabitha had appropriate 'well, damn' faces. "I don't plan on embezzling that money, never did. It's free arcade dough, what's not to like about it? But now you two are stuck here with me, which means I'm gonna get three times as much money as I used to get before."

Trish and Tabitha looked at themselves, fully cognizant that Lion wasn't blaming them for anything, though his sardonic attitude could lead one to believe so. And then, they stared back at the president of the club, who groaned loudly.

"You don't need to follow me if you don't wanna, it's not like everyone from every club goes in these useless fucking trips anyway," Lion shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I heard that those bitches in the fashion club just burn all that allowance in makeup and then claim a trip to Sephora and that dumbass Mrs. Lei swallows it like a champ. Either way, it's up to you if you wanna join me or not; I ain't your babysitter."

"This actually sounds like fun," Trish smiled. "It's been a long time since I last went to an arcade. Maybe I could see if I can still rock at DDR!"

"You play DDR? That's cool," Lion smirked, digging in his backpack for his handheld. Since the bureaucratic part of the day was done with, he could sit back and play games, as he usually did.

"I do! Can't wait to try again. And you, Tabby?" Trish turned to the blue-haired girl who sat all the way across the room from Lion.

"I guess..." She started, but that sentence would never come to completion. She stopped to think about the awkward vibes between herself and Lion -- even though he brought her back into the club following their encounter with Louis, the football player, there was still some tension in the air, especially because of Tabitha's insensitive words towards him. "I could go too, yes. I'm... Not that good at games, but I could sure... Try something new!"

"You don't have to be good at it. Games are for fun," Lion replied, without looking at Tabitha.

"Yeah... I guess..." She muttered to herself, musing about how that trip to the arcade was the best chance she had to actually apologize to Lion. It was time to put the bad vibes down. "Just share the address with us and let's schedule it."

...

...

...

The trip to the local arcade wouldn't take too long to happen, especially because the Video Game Club didn't require much in the way of preparations to hit a place like that.

The building was a charming, dimly lit lounge with lots and lots of arcade machines. The sheer variety of games offered was enough to make Trish's eyes shine, especially when she spotted the DDR station. A counter on the far wall opposite to the entrance gate served sodas and mixed non-alcoholic beverages to the patrons, as well as the usual snack stand, offering from fresh hotdogs to team-sized Doritos. Instrumental uplifting music played in the background, far from loud enough to overpower the maddening cacophony of so many games being played at once, but not too quiet as to be impossible to be heard.

From the get-go, everyone seemed to know exactly what to do, almost as if they'd been regulars at that place and not just Lion. The girls helped one another through team games like House of the Dead, while Lion played back to back rounds of his favorite fighting games, under the curious eyes of passers-by.

It felt longer than an hour after Lion decided to take a break from all the gaming, as his eyes started to well up, a sign that he had been exposed to direct light for too long. When his latest King of Fighters credit was expended, he made his way to the drinks counter, not even bothering to search for Trish or Tabitha, as he just assumed they were doing their own thing. And, again, he wasn't their babysitter.

"Hey, man," the fellow behind the counter quickly approached Lion as he rubbed his eyes to shake the eyesore out. "Can I fix you something?"

"Yeah. Do you have Black Cherry Cola?" Lion asked, grinning at the bartender.

"Right away," the bartender replied, quickly grabbing his mixer and some bottles. Into the cocktail mixer went crushed ice, some citrus acids such as lime and orange juice, and then a hearty sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg powders. After some vigorous shaking, all that mixture went into a large glass, filling up half of it. The other half was filled with standard cola, and the whole presentation was made complete with a pair of cherries on top of the glass.

"Here you go, my man," said the bartender, offering Lion the drink before the young man handed his arcade card to the worker so he could add that to his tab.

"Thanks," the student replied, immediately taking a sip of his drink. Or... A couple. "That's the good shit," Lion muttered to himself, appreciative of the small stuff.

And then, turning his sight to the lounge, he could not only see Trish dancing to another DDR song, attracting a small audience of curious people... And with the corner of his eye, he spotted Tabitha coming his way.

The blue-haired girl sat beside Lion on the counter and hesitated to address him. She noticed the drink on his hand, finally turning to the bartender. "Do you have... um... Cream soda?" She asked meekly, and the server just nodded, making his way to the fridge behind him to grab a can of cream soda for her. And while he did, Tabitha turned to Lion. "Hey, um..."

"Sup?" Lion replied almost too dismissively.

"I just... Wanted to thank you again," Tabby started, fumbling with her own thoughts. "You know... For what you did for me last week."

Lion winced and shook her head as Tabitha referenced the fight he'd had with Louis as the footballer attempted to abuse her in plain sight. "Yeah, whatever."

"I hadn't had a chance to do this before because... I didn't wanna... Interrupt anything..." Tabitha continued rambling on; "I mean... You and Trish seemed always so busy with your Pokémon and--"

"I get the point," Lion rolled his eyes. "Just knock it off."

"B-but you saved me from that creep," Tabitha smiled. "He was touching me and--"

"Shut up. You're spoiling my drink."

Tabitha was taken aback by the sudden aggressiveness in Lion's voice as he gave her the cold shoulder. "S-sorry! I just wanted--"

"I thought you said I was a creep too," Lion growled. "If you're gonna fucking lump everyone together in the same batch of bull, you can miss me with that shit."

Tabitha took a dry gulp, feeling her blood warm up in a hurry. Not out of anger, but out of embarrassment. "You're... Not a creep," she said, attempting to reach for Lion's hand while trying to look at him straight in the eyes. "I regret having said that immensely. I'm... sorry. And I'm thankful--"

Lion immediately pulled his arm away from Tabitha's as soon as he felt her palm hovering over his hand. "Fuck off," he roared, setting his glass on the bar and storming away with a pained huff. Tabitha watched with welling up eyes as he made his way to the men's bathroom, all the way across the main court... And questioned whether she should give chase.

...

After relieving himself in the toilet -- part of the experience of sitting down for too long and sipping one too many soda drinks --, Lion made his way to the sink to wash his hands and couldn't help but look at himself in the mirror. He saw a tired young man looking back at him. Annoyed, fed up. And he could recognize himself there.

Removing his beanie for a moment, his hands still wet after getting them washed, he stuffed it in his pants' pocket and proceeded to splash some water on his face. Frigid, just like he needed to keep his temper down. "Bitch," he muttered to himself. "I didn't do anything to earn that shit. Fucking idiot."

Another splash of water to his face followed before he finally closed the faucet and got ready to exit back into the main lounge. He half-assed his way through drying himself, barely using the paper towels, before he exited the men's restroom...

And saw Tabitha there. Leaning against the wall. Waiting for him.

"Fuck my life," Lion complained, rolling his eyes. "What the fuck do you want now?"

"I wanted to thank you," Tabitha answered, even though she had already done so no more than a couple of minutes prior. "Why can't you accept that?"

"Because bitches like you piss me off the most," Lion answered. "All piss and vinegar when you're crossed, but you can't lift your fucking fingers to protect your neck. Pointing fingers and ruining lives for the fucking fun of it."

"Th-That's... Not true..." Tabitha sighed.

"Just... Fuck off of my face," Lion roared before stepping away from Tabitha to take his leave. But before he could realize it, Tabitha would reach for his arm and pull his hand up to her chest.

"C-cross my heart and... hope to die, I'm... Not lying."

Lion felt his digits pressing into something squishy and soft, but he couldn't figure out what was going on before turning to Tabitha. The blue-haired outcast had firmly pressed his hand onto one of her breasts. As his digits sank softly into the soft skin of her plump bust, Lion blushed and stared up at Tabitha, stunned. "W-What the...?"

"I mean it," Tabitha insisted; "I... rarely have the courage to stand up for what I... truly believe. But this... is worth standing up for. You're worth standing up for."

"Fucking... Quit this shit, c'mon," Lion lowered his head, as his face grew redder and redder. "You have no idea what you're talking about, dude, let's just--"

His train of thought was derailed entirely when Tabitha leaned into Lion and pressed her lips into his. He felt his words muffled inside his mouth and dying before escaping his lips, as Tabitha slowly caressed the back of his hand, that still rested on her breast.

Much like when a dam breaks and the water pressure devastates the land, the cogs immediately started turning faster in Lion's mind. Not that he was moved by lust, but if Tabitha was going to rope him into it, he might as well give in to his base desires. With unexpected aggressiveness, Lion reached for the back of Tabitha's head, grabbing a handful of her hair and holding her in place, not only allowing Tabitha to kiss him but joining in, his tongue exploring her mouth to play with hers.

Tabitha couldn't help but yelp into Lion's mouth when she felt his other hand leaving her breast and reaching for her derriere, his fingertips sinking into her flesh over her long skirt. It was so sudden, yet so welcome, as it gave her the freedom to love him back. She didn't want to slap his hands away as she'd do with any other man -- on the contrary, she wrapped one of her arms around his neck to hold him close and never let go, while the other found his chest, as if she wanted to feel his heartbeat just like she'd allowed him to check hers.

The outside world carried on without them, as they'd be a reality on their lonesome -- the background music and dissonance of people and game scores and buttons grew further and further as the two sudden lovers made out in the hallway. Tabitha slid her palm over Lion's chest and allowed it to glide down to his stomach, where an opening between his shirt's buttons would allow her to find skin, feeling the rigidness of his toned abs, right before Lion forced Tabby backward and pressed her against the hallway wall. Her heavy breathing evolved into soft moans, and those gave way to louder coos of surprise as she felt Lion's hand lifting up her skirt, to the point her underwear would be exposed. Wincing in anticipation, she felt as Lion's hand dove under her underwear, his fingertips groping her derriere with a passion, feeling her soft skin directly and making her gasp loudly into his mouth.

It was at that moment that Tabitha felt it pressing against her thigh. Lion's excitement, in the form of his engorging manhood. Her heart skipped a beat as she threw her head back in surprise, shivering in nervousness with that development and somehow not cognizant of how she'd brought it upon herself. As her kiss with Lion came apart, he could see the apprehension etched on her face... And she could see his desire. Raw, feral, boiling with lust; truly like the king of the savannah ready to feast on its catch: a lion ready to sink his teeth into his caught doe's flesh.

That WOULD be the time for Tabitha to back out of it, and yet she stood there, as afraid of what could come out of that situation as she anticipated it. Lion even allowed Tabitha the time to think if she should do it, but when she just stared back at him, assenting with her eyes as Lion asked, without words, if she wanted to carry on, he pressed his body into hers, feeling her large, soft breasts pressing against his chest, as his hand left her butt and reached under her leg, lifting it up and pressing his swelling sex into her pelvis. Once more she gasped, one of her hands clawing at the wall behind her while the other held on to Lion's neck.

Tabitha felt Lion docking his face between her neck and shoulder, feeling his deep breath caressing her skin, while his hips started gyrating slowly as he rubbed his bulge against her barely exposed underwear. Albeit still covered by his pants and underwear, Tabitha could feel the desire to dominate her coming from Lion as he pressed his sex into hers. Everything felt new and somewhat scary for her, as she'd never thought herself to be desirable by any man, and yet there she was, being humped by her clubmate, and it didn't feel like he was doing that to satiate his own lust... Even though the hunger and desire were clear in his eyes.

He grazed on the skin of her neck before picking up the pace of his humping, moaning softly into her ear as he enjoyed everything he could about her. Slowly, Tabitha's fear and apprehension dissolved into the happiness of knowing Lion wanted her, and the courage to offer herself to him superseded the instinct to run away. This time it was her hand reaching for the back of his head, holding him close to her as he moved his hips faster and harder, pressing his manhood into her underwear, feeling the warmth of their bodies dictate the rhythm with which they'd love one another.

His other hand moved under her other leg, and that too he lifted off the floor. Tabitha felt her body pressed against the wall as Lion held her up with all his strength. It was embarrassing, as she was fully spread-eagled in a public place while someone dry-fucked her, but at the same time, it was the most exciting experience she'd ever had. Her fingers held on to Lion's hair, while her other hand hovered around his body, caressing the skin of his lower midsection, as her legs wrapped strongly around his waist, hiding her potentially fully exposed underwear from public view, while he continued to thrust against her body, maddening thoughts soaked with lust swirling in his head as he'd made the ritual of showing Tabitha his desire for her his mission.

Their messy high of teenage hormones carried on for what felt like a small eternity for the two young lovers. They made out and moaned into one another's mouths, sweating into their clothes and coating one another's faces with their sweat, only to come apart and moan openly, while Lion continued to hump Tabitha with reckless abandon, her eyelids fluttering in delight as she was being subjected to something so new, she could hardly understand what was going on. All she knew was that she wanted more. Passers-by, few and far apart as they were, tried their best to ignore what the two young lovebirds did, but it was impossible not to notice how taken they were by the whole experience.

All that overwhelming pleasure slowly sent Tabitha over the edge. Her grip on Lion's hair grew stronger, her soft moans grew into loud-pitched whimpers of delight, and she felt like something within her was about to come undone. "Lion... I... I think I'm gonna...!" She started, mewling in his ear.

She didn't need to say anything else. With a slight roar of effort, Lion was inspired to pick up the pace, pressing his sex into Tabitha's faster, harder, with even more desire. Tabitha's eyes went wide for a moment before they rolled behind her eyelids and she let herself go. With a subdued quail, yet a powerful gasp, her whole body tensed up for a second, alerting Lion that she'd met her breaking point.

It was then that he stopped, allowing himself to look at the lust-filled expression etched on her face. Albeit goofy, it was the rawest expression of happiness he'd ever seen on Tabitha's face.

It was the first time since they'd first met that she didn't offer him a forced smile.

...

...

...

Tabitha took her time in the bathroom. Not only did she need to wipe her sweat off her face so she wouldn't look like a complete mess, she also needed to clean up her panties. She had no idea that her tryst with Lion would make such a mess in her delicates.

But, surely, at some moment she'd have to feel ready to come back to the main court. And when she felt so, after having to put herself back together and the clean-up ritual that followed, she clumsily walked back to the lounge. And it was impossible not to see Lion there, sitting basically at the same spot he was before, sipping on a newly refilled glass of whatever he was having before.

She sat beside him and averted his gaze, just as he avoided hers. They both were fully aware of what they'd been through, and it felt awkward beyond belief. They both built the courage to speak up and break the ice, but for long seconds, both just... Sat there.

"You know--" Tabitha started... Before being cut off by Lion, who had the idea of breaking the silence at the same time.

"You were drinking cream soda right now, yeah?"

"Um... Y-Yeah..." Tabitha stuttered, shrinking unto herself on her seat. There was a weird silence when Lion didn't respond right away, but when she looked at him, he was offering her his glass. "Wha...?"

"Wanna try? Black Cherry Cola. It's the tits," he noted.

Tabitha stared at the fancy drink with confusion, before coyly taking the straw and taking a small sip. It didn't take long for her to realize why that was Lion's drink of choice. "Hey, this... is really good!"

Lion smirked before turning to the barkeep and pointing to his glass. "Get me another one of these, can ya? Make it special," he said, before reaching into his blazer's pocket and retrieving a $5 bill, handing it over to the worker with a smirk. The bartender nodded and returned the grin, before getting right to work.

As for Tabitha, she sat there, blushing, waiting for Lion to turn back to face her. "Th-THanks, Lion. That's... Very nice of you."

"Whatever," he answered; "I was just sick of you looking mopey all the time."

That made Tabitha chuckle brightly as she smiled again. "You're... Pretty sweet, you know that?"

"Miss me with that talk," Lion groaned before sipping on his own drink. "I'm just another dickhead."

"A dickhead wouldn't buy me a drink to make me feel comfortable," Tabitha smirked.

"Yeah, whatever," he rolled his eyes. "Just knock it the fuck off, you're gonna spoil my drink."

Tabitha giggled, and decided to say nothing about it any longer, waiting for the bartender to give her the fresh drink. Something, however, started to bug her. "Um, wasn't... Trish there?"

"What? Where?" Lion questioned, before looking in the direction of the DDR mats. And sure enough, the redhead wasn't there. "Huh. Must've hit the bathroom."

"I'd have seen her if that was the case," Tabitha pondered, before looking around. "And I think she'd have told us if she needed some-- WHAT-- TRISH?!"

When Lion looked in the same direction Tabitha was looking, he saw Trish at the counter at the end of the lounge, paying her tab as if she was ready to leave the arcade. "What the fuck?!" He jumped from his seat, and Tabitha followed, as he made his way up to the redhead. "Yo, Trish! You leaving without us?!"

The redhead seemed nothing short of absolutely livid when she turned to Lion and Tabitha; her face was red with anger as she growled at them, throwing both of her friends off. "Which one of you had the brilliant idea of sharing with the dumbasses from school we were coming here today?!"

"Wait, sharing?" Lion questioned, looking at Tabitha... Who had the absolute same look of confusion on her face. "What the fuck are you talking about?!"

Trish groaned loudly before retrieving her bank card from the payment station and stuffing it in her purse nonchalantly. "Whatever. My night is over!"

Unable to follow her out of the lounge, Lion and Tabitha watched as their friend stormed away and waved for the first cab she saw on the street, quickly boarding it and vanishing into the night. The blue-haired girl's eyes welled up in distress, while the young man's fist clenched in anger. "I've never seen her like this..." Tabitha whimpered.

"Me fucking neither."

The voice came from behind them, and when they turned around to see who it was... It was Richard, with soda all over his clothes and a dejected expression. "And all I did was offer to do a two-player routine with her..."


End file.
